Peace, isn't how I thought it would be
by BenignViewer
Summary: What would have happened if the Fire Nation won the war, if Katara never found the Avatar? The Northern Water Tribe was defeated by Zhao, Ba Sing Se fell to the Drill, only the small Southern Water Tribe has remained undiscovered by the Fire Nation...
1. Book 1: Water: Prologue 'Trapped'

**Peace… (Isn't how I thought it would be)**

_Foreword: This is my first A:TLA fic... So let's just see where this one goes! The following storyline is purely subjective of course, this is like my little side project besides my other two developing A:TLA stories, which hopefully I will be uploading soon. Sorry to all my 'Bones' Readers, I haven't forgotten you, I have just been really busy as of late, and couldn't get this out of my head!  
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_Summary: What would have happened if the Fire Nation won the war, if Katara never found the Avatar? The Northern water tribe was defeated by Zhao, Ba Sing Se fell after the drill broke through their walls, only the small southern water tribe village has remained undiscovered by the Fire Nation…_

_Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but maybe if I get a job someday I will ;)  
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**Prologue: Trapped**

It was a clear and sunny morning. Something that everyone in the southern water tribe had come to fear. Sun was when the fire benders were at their strongest, and if it was clear then there was nothing stopping them finding their small village.

Katara trudged desolately through the snow, which was becoming thinner and thinner. The heat of the sun felt hotter than usual, she was sweating inside her thick parka, which was almost unheard of at the South Pole. Around her she could see others similarly affected, the heat could only mean one thing – the fire nation was here. After all these long years she almost welcomed them finally coming, she had heard the stories as one by one the last great free cities of the world fell before the might of the fire nation. Her Father had returned recently, fleeing before a massive fire navy fleet. He told them horror stories of the collapse of the earth kingdom after Ba Sing Se fell. Few of his warriors returned, and while He, Sokka and I were a family once again, we all lived under the constant fear of the fire nation. The terrifying wait was now over, as snow and soot mixed and fell over the barren landscape marring the vast beauty of the South Pole, previously untouched by the fire nation.

She looked up, and saw in the distance the abandoned ship frozen in the ice pack by her people long ago, haunting her tribe for nearly a century. Beyond it in the clear morning air the shadows of a hundred more emerged, bearing down on the village.

It was over. Even if she'd wanted to run, there was no where to go. Their last hiding place had become their own trap. There probably wouldn't even be a struggle, no one had any hope left to fight for.

The Fire Nation had won.

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_Author's Note: My apologies for the short opening chapter, but I promise there will be more! This is kind of an experimentla story, I have the genreal idea for the first few chapters, but if you have any particualr way you want this to go, drop me a line, E-mail or PM me (I do refuse to write Zutara - I have nothing against it, I just am a huge Kataang shipper - but that doesn't guarantee that this story will be Kataang). And of course, please review! _


	2. Book 1: Water: Ch 1 'The Lost Soul'

**Peace… (Isn't how I thought it would be)**

_Foreword: Now I have posted The first real chapter! I hope I am keeping the characters realistic and in character, bear in mind that the world is somewaht different to how the A:TLA series started out.  
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_Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but maybe if I ask Santa really nicely... ;)  
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**1. ****The Lost Soul**

Zuko paced the deck of his ship. He traced and re-traced his footsteps, leaving a trail of scorch marks ion his wake. He didn't even notice the spectacular scenery, and nor would he have cared if he had, the dark pit of despair welling ever greater inside of him as the ships closed in on their target.

He had scoured the world looking for the Avatar. It had been over three years, and his search had led him from one side of the globe to the other. He had torn through every civilisation, every hospitable location in the world, and even many that weren't. Yet still the Avatar eluded him. Now however he had finally reached his limit.

The end.

After this last solitary tribe in the South Pole was gone he would have to accept his failure. He would never have his honour back. Even if the Avatar was here, he had no chance of capturing him, his small ship and crew insignificant in comparison to the Fire Navy fleet massing to attack.

"Why are you burning footprints into the deck, Zuko?"

"Why would you care!" He roared, his frustration and despair flaring into rage at the soft voice at his shoulder. He immediately softened somewhat when he saw that it was his uncle Iroh, but now only felt worse about himself for his outburst.

"I care for you, my nephew" Iroh said softly "Come, there is no point wasting any more time out here. We only have a narrow window of opportunity if you want to search for the Avatar."

"But how can I possibly find him? He hasn't been seen for a hundred years! And Zhao…" His voice trailed away. He remembered his burning resolve when he'd started his quest. He even remembered the same resolve up until a few months ago. With each new fire nation victory; the sacking of the Northern Water Tribe, the siege of Omashu, the Conquest of Ba Sing Se he felt his spirits lower.

This conflicted him greatly, on the one hand he felt he should at least be loyal to his nation, _his_ people, but with everyone of his enemies defeat he lost a little more hope that he would ever find the lost Avatar.

"Zuko, you can't give in to despair. There is always hope. Even without the Avatar you can still live your life." Iroh glanced worriedly at his nephew. He had been becoming even more withdrawn as of late. "Come quickly, we still have a chance here, Zhao will take his time making his preparations."

"You're right uncle. There is still hope. I have searched the entire world. Only this god forsaken block of ice remains. The Avatar must be here."

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Katara stared out at what she could only describe as the end of the world. The Fire nation Navy had stopped some distance away, making some final preparations. _They needn't have bothered_ she thought bitterly. _It's not like they will face much of a fight._ Behind her she could hear the flurry of activity as the tribe tried to organize itself for the Fire Nation. The proud water tribe warriors hung their heads, the women cried and the children clung to their parents. _Organizing, huh!_ She scoffed to herself _They are just preparing themselves for Fire Nation rule._ Although she viewed her Tribe's abandon with disdain, she couldn't blame them. There was absolutely no reason to have any hope left for the world.

So then why did she? It was more painful to hope. Yet it was in her nature, she couldn't give it up as much as she could give up breathing.

She was suddenly chilled by a low keening moan. It was some kind of animal call, a bestial cry of anguish, which swept over the icy tundra with a sudden breeze. The sound was beautiful and haunting, and for some reason it caused a tear to well in her eye. She couldn't say why, but the sad song nearly broke her heart.

"Do you hear that?"

She turned to see her brother standing behind her, joining her in her vigil. "Yes." The single word was all she could muster in way of reply.

"I have never heard a sound like that before. It's obviously coming from something very large." She eyed her brother strangely, having no clue where he was going with this. "Would probably make a decent meal."

"Sokka!" she gasped "You. Are. Such. An. Insensitive. Idiot!" she smacked him on the arm with each word for good measure, yet for some reason laughing despite herself. _Don't ever change._ Although she would never openly admit it, she was glad for her brother's simple food driven thoughts.

"Ow!" he yelped. "What was that for?"

"For thinking about eating that poor creature!"

"It's just a natural part of the food chain Katara!"

"Quiet!" She said fiercely. "Listen" Surprisingly Sokka actually listened to her, and stopped talking. There it was again. They could both hear the deep mourning cries of the creature somewhere in the distance. "Would you really want to kill that?"

"Sure. Put it out of its misery" Sokka replied without thinking, earning another smack from his sister. "Okay! Geez, it's not like I was going to go out hunting anyway, with the fire nation on out doorstep." He walked off a little ways, grumbling about girls and 'being sentimental'.

Katara however was no longer paying any attention, her eyes squinting into the distance, as she saw something in the opposite direction to the Fire Nation ships. She saw it only for a moment, and she wasn't even sure what it was she saw, just a dark silhouette rising into the sky.

But it made her smile.

Sighing she turned sadly back to the impending fleet, climbing to the top of a nearby ice mound for a better view, near the ocean. Why she wanted a better view, she didn't know, and she was contemplating this from her vantage point when she saw it.

Letting out a strangled gasp she ran down the far side of the mound as fast as she could, not hearing Sokka's worried voice, or his rushed footsteps after her. She ran down to the edge of the ice, where soft waves were lapping against the frozen shore. And there lying in the water was the source of her outburst. It was a body...

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_Author's Note: Sorry about the Cliffie guys! Kudos to anyone who can guess who the mysterious creature is... It shouldn't be too hard...  
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	3. Book 1: Water: Ch 2 'Boy in the Water'

**Peace… (Isn't how I thought it would be)**

_Foreword: Here is the next chapter, hope you enjoy!  
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_Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but at least this story is original =P  
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**2. ****The Boy in the Water**

Zuko eyed the small town which for the last few months had been the home of the last free people in the world. He smiled scornfully as the village came into focus.  
He saw now why they called them the Southern Water _Tribe_, he smirked. It was nothing more than a primitive collection of small huts and igloos. Perhaps one large tent was the pinnacle of the architecture in the place. It was nothing like the soaring majesty of the Northern Water Tribe he had once 'visited'.

_So this is where the fabled Water-Tribe warriors of Carnelian Bay hailed from?_ He was honestlythat these _savages_ had held the Fire Navy at bay for so long before the fall of Ba Sing Se. If admiral Chan could see them now, he would probably hang himself out of shame.

"Take us in slowly, close behind that iceberg" Zuko pointed at a large broken berg, which was easily distinguished by the large crater in it's surface.

"Yes Sir." The helmsman acknowledged, as he set the ships course. The gargantuan block of ice was right now drifting gently between them and the village, and it would give them cover as they made their approach.

"We'll ghost in and take the Avatar, before Zhao has a chance to mobilize his army."

"Excellent, prince Zuko" his uncle praised. "Play to your strengths. Zhao may have power, but we have speed and surprise on our side."

"Yes." Zuko smiled grimly "The Avatar _will_ be mine."

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Katara stared out at the body in the water, it was floating about fifty feet away. It stood out against the surrounding water, clothed in a bright and garish yellow robe, of a type Katara had never seen before.

"Katara!" Sokka called "What in the spirits name are you doing?" That was when he saw the body too. His eyes boggled and met hers, and in them he saw her determination in what she was about to do. "Katara… don't" he pleaded.

She hesitated for a moment, looking between the body and her brother. In the end his plea was useless against her resolve. "We have to help"

"It's probably too late already" Sokka said

"What if it isn't?"

"Then it'll be some Fire Nation trick!" Sokka protested, but it was no use "Katara!"

Throwing caution to the suddenly vigorous wind, Katara shed her large parka and dived into the freezing southern ocean. She was a proficient swimmer, coming from having lived her whole life in the icy South Pole, among her element. But even she was struggling in the freezing waters.

Sokka stared helplessly after, but there was nothing he could do now.

Katara continued struggling towards the body, by now she was close enough to make out some of his features. Even floating in the water, she could tell 'he' was little more than a boy, perhaps her age roughly, slight of frame yet well built. A short cropping of hair covered his head, and the rest that she could see of him looked blue from the cold.  
Finally after what seemed like hours in the freezing water Katara reached him. She could just make out his laboured breathing, and she felt his fluttering pulse when she grasped his wrist. He was alive, but just barely. Treading water as she held him she couldn't really describe what happened next. His hand suddenly felt soft and warm against hers, despite the cold and his icy skin. She felt something surge inside of her, some part of herself she had long hidden in despair and fear, suddenly awoken now that she had something, someone to hold onto. That small part inside her continued to surge in response, growing and overwhelming her. She didn't know where the power and knowledge from, but she could suddenly feel the ebbing in her blood, like the ocean tide in response to the push and pull of the moon. She felt that she had to let it all go, and in some unknown movement to her, she swept her arm back, behind her, then forwards again, in a flowing motion like a river running to the ocean. She could feel the surge inside her, almost unbearable now. And the Ocean surged in response.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Sokka nervously watched from the shore as his sister reached the strange body. He saw her treading in the water beside him, but she was struggling and he knew it. He saw her waving her arm back and forth and thought it was some sort of distress call. He was just about to jump in after her, but never got the chance.  
A massive wave reared up from behind his sister seemingly out of nowhere in the relatively calm sea and crashed swiftly into the shore, carrying Katara and the body with it.

Sokka had no time to move out of the way as the wave bore down upon him. A few hectic water filled moments later he found himself swept alongside Katara and the mystery body which he could now see was a young man.  
"That's it Katara!" his temper snapped as his fine tunic was soaked, wrecking his warrior make up. "Every time you play around with magic bad stuff happens and I get soaked!"

"But Sokka… I've never done anything like that before…" Katara said in a small voice, still seemingly in awe of what she'd just done.

Sokka looked around and realised the wave had thrown him some twenty feet from where he'd been standing. It would have carried Katara more than double that from where she was in the water. Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he glared at her. "That's not the point!" he yelled, his voice cracking as he did so "The point is that whether it's some giant freakish wave or some little – and no less freakish – floating ball of water, whenever you wave your arms aroundI get covered in it! So I'm not splitting hairs between the two!"

"What is your problem!" Katara yelled back at him, equally as angry by his pig headed stubbornness "You want me to give up water bending altogether?"

"Yes!" he spat back at her "It's not like it's done you any good, has it?"

Katara however was no longer paying attention. She suddenly remembered the boy she had just rescued when she heard a ragged gasp from beside her. Her argument with Sokka was pushed out of her mind as she fetched her still dry parka and wrapped it around the shivering and unconscious boy. She forsook wearing the parka herself, knowing that she would survive without it, in the abnormally warm South Pole air. _I guess we should thank the fire nation for that_ she thought sourly.

"Katara, I am trying to have an argument here!" Sokka said, trying to be intimidating. It came off as whiny. "Now leave the Fire Nation spy alone, we need to get back to the tribe. We can talk with dad about whether we come get him then, or leave him to wait for his 'friends'."

"You are such an idiot Sokka! This isn't Fire Nation uniform, It's not even Fire Nation made!"

"Well I know it isn't Water Tribe" he said smugly.

"Great deduction genius" she quipped, and the smile fell from his face. "If he really was a Fire nation spy, wouldn't he be wearing Water Tribe clothing, you know, maybe as a disguise or something?" She pointed out an obvious flaw in his reasoning.

"Well we all know each other in this tribe, and we'd spot a Water Tribe imposter a mile away, so he obviously dressed up as a foreigner 'coz it's the last thing anyone'd suspect."

"But_ you_ figured it out, oh master of perception" Katara said with all the sarcasm she could muster.

Sokka being the arrogant fool he was sometimes, completely missed her tone. "Well y'know, I don't like to boast or anything, but-"

"Urgh!" Katara's frustrated groan cut him off, which was followed by a resounding smack to his shoulder.

"Ow!" he yelped

"You are the most self obsessed jerk of a brother, ever!"

Sokka was shocked by her outburst. _Where did that come from?_ He wondered, more confused than insulted. _Hadn't she just been giving him a compliment before?_ "Girls…" he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Katara growled and whirled around, her face barely an inch from his. Sokka flinched and jumped back from her, tripping over himself on the slippery ice, and landing on his buttocks with a loud 'thump'. "Well are you going to sit there all day? Or maybe you can get off your lazy butt and help me." Katara said glaring, before checking on the boy again. His breath was coming a lot more irregularly now, and his breathing was softer. She knew he wouldn't survive out here much longer, they needed to get him somewhere warm and dry, and that meant back to the village.

"But he's Fire Nation!" Sokka protested once more.

"Right now I don't care, even if he was you I'd still try to save him." She glared at him, but continued before he could protest further. "If we don't get him back to the village soon, he will die.

"Good riddance" Sokka said harshly.

"Sokka, please…" she begged "I can't do this by myself, and I can't let him die."

A long silence ensued, measured only by the boy's laboured breathing. They could hear his breathing growing fainter with ever passing moment, the cold and water were taking their toll.  
Finally Sokka made his decision. "Fine, fine. I'll help. But I still don't like this. And I definitely don't trust him."

Katara rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything more to her brother. She just lifted the boy by around his shoulders as Sokka hoisted him by the legs. "We've got you" she whispered softly into his ear "I'm going to save you." Perhaps it was just wishful thinking on her part, but she swore he stirred a little at her words. Together they carried him stretcher like back to the Tribe, all the while the Fire Nation ships slowly closed in, bearing down upon them.

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_Author's Note: Ok, so hope you enjoy this... Yes it kind of parralels the original series, I guess we'll all see where it ends up =P This stroy is as much a surprise to me as you guys, the muse just pours out whatever it was, I got no control... well maybe a little ;) Anyway, please review, feedback makes me a better writer and in turn gets you a better story!_

~BENIGNviewer~_  
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	4. Book 1: Water: Ch 3 'Sickness & Health'

**Peace… (Isn't how I thought it would be)**

_Foreword: I know the story does mirror the Show's storyline a little, but here we are going to spend a little more time in the south pole yet. Sorry for all of you who are looking forward to the big action scene, you'll get it in the next chapter! In the meantime, enjoy some character development...  
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_Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but hey, that's never stopped me writing before! XD  
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**3. ****In Sickness and in Health**

Katara finally couldn't carry him any further. She slumped down on the snow covered ground, just outside the village. Sokka dropped down beside her. They glanced at each other, both choosing not to speak. They were both tired and anything they said would just lead them to an argument they didn't want to have.

The boy's shallow breathing alerted them to the urgency of the situation, but all Katara could do was hold onto him and pray as he slipped further and further away.

"Katara! Sokka!" a welcome voice yelled nearby.

They both turned relieved to hear their father's voice and see him coming towards them with some of the other men of the tribe. "Dad!" they waved, and Sokka stumbled toward him, despite his exhaustion. Katara however wouldn't leave the boy.

"What area you both doing out here?" Hakoda demanded of them, once he was sure they were safe. "You know that the Fire Nation is on our doorstep!"

"Dad I-" Katara started, but he cut her off.

"Katara you know that now of all times you shouldn't wander off!"

"But Dad-"

"Listen, if anything had of happened to you… Who's that?" He said puzzled when he noticed the boy Katara was cradling for the first time.

"We captured a Fire Nation spy." Sokka said, smirking.

"Sokka!" Katara glared at him. "We don't know who he is." she said to her father now "As I was trying to say before, I had this feeling and it lead me out here, where I found him. There was more but she didn't exactly know how to say it. It had felt like someone was _calling_ to her.

"So you just blindly followed some feeling that lead you out here, right when the Fire Nation is about to invade? I don't know whether to marvel at your courage, or cringe at you foolishness." Hakoda said, rolling his eyes sarcastically, in spite of the seriousness of the situation.

"Please Dad." She begged "We have to help him. He's dying!"

"Well he doesn't look like he's Fire Nation" he said, looking the boy over.

"Well of course a spy wouldn't" Sokka said, his stubborn pride refusing to let him back down to his sister.

"We'll take him back to the tribe, and do what we can for him" Hakoda decided. "_If_ he comes to, then we can find out some more about him, and what he's doing here."

"Thankyou Dad" Katara said gratefully picking herself up.

"Here," her father helped her "You two" he gestured to two warriors who had accompanied him "Get the boy, gently. We don't want him to die now."

"Yes Chief" the two answered as the party finally made their way into the village.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Zuko quietly dressed himself in his battle armor, planning. It was time strike, and finish this once and for all. In the distance Admiral Zhao's fleet seemed an excessive waste, Zuko's small ship and crew alone could dominate this town. And there he would find the Avatar. This war would be over for good, and he could finally return home, in glory. _With Honour…_

"Zuko…" the gentle deep voice of his uncle roused him from his thoughts. "Everyone is in position, but Zhao is getting closer. It's now or never."

"We will wait until nightfall, so that the coward has no chance to runaway" he growled.

"Water Benders are strongest at night."

"I know, _general_ Iroh" he said with attitude "I also know that there are no benders left in the southern water tribe. They are as extinct as the air nomads."

"Just… be careful, Zuko."

Zuko's face softened as he regarded his old mentor, friend and advisor. "I will uncle. I can't tempt you to enjoy me?"

"No, no. I'm afraid I shall stay on the ship, the Dragon of the West's days as a warrior are over." Iroh smiled reassuringly at Zuko. "You must do what you think is right."

"I will capture the Avatar."

Iroh let out a long, sad, sigh as he watched his nephew march off. The young man had grown a lot in his quest, but he could still see much confusion in him. Maybe it wasn't clear in his manner or bearing, but Iroh could see it in his eyes. He only hoped that his nephew could find his own path to walk, and not the one paved out for him.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Katara was crouching in a small hut in her village. Beside her, and the subject of her attention was the boy she had rescued.

When they had initially arrived at the village they had received many curious stares. A crowd gathered around the form of the boy in the strange clothing as my father's warriors carried him in. The members of the tribe were cautious at first, regarding the stranger coldly and with suspicion. They stared at her like she was some kind of stranger, reassessing and judging her. She didn't care however, and let them stare, defiantly glaring back at anyone who met her gaze.

"Katara!" an elderly voice called out. It was her grandmother. "Katara, what were you thinking, running off into the wilderness like that, and bringing a stranger back no less."

"I don't care what anyone thinks, Gran-Gran" she said heavily. "I did what I thought was right."

Her grandmother didn't say anything more to her, just looked at her with the same cold assessing look along with the rest of the tribe. She couldn't understand the reaction of her people, why they were so reluctant to help another. It was like this war was poisoning everyone under a cloud of fear and suspicion, so much so that it was tainting everything that they'd once fought for.

"He looks funny!" A soft voice muttered behind her.

"Ssh!" another hissed.

She turned to see a group of young kids staring curiously at the stranger. There was no fear or judgement in their eyes, and they looked at her with open curiosity and Katara smiled. There was still hope in the future.

People soon lost interest however, the mothers ushered their children away and the warriors he put the boy in a spare hut. There was no one to tend him, as everyone was too busy with their own struggles to survive to help him, the Fire Nation at the forefront of their minds, and so Katara was sitting here with him, gingerly trying to pour some water down his throat.

"Katara…" a soft voice drew her thoughts away from him.

She turned to see her grandmother behind her. "If you've come to lecture me Gran-Gran–"

"No Katara, I wanted to say I'm proud of you. You did the right thing, despite what anyone else might say or think." Her grandmother offered her a reassuring smile.

Katara wiped away a lone tear, and hugged her fiercly. "Thank you Gran-Gran."

"Well it looks like you could use some help here, how about letting your old Gran-Gran give you a hand in treating this young man" she said with a toothy grin, giving Katara a suggestive wink.

"Gran-Gran, he is in a coma, I haven't even spoken to him…" she muttered, blushing furiously

"Well he didn't change himself" her grandmother said giggling childishly.

Katara blushed again, pointedly ignoring the knowing look her grandmother was giving her as she pointed to the water tribe outfit the boy was now wrapped up in.

She'd never been more thankful for an interruption when her father walked in. "I thought I'd find you two in here." He said, shaking his head. "The council has met and we've reached a decision."

"Well what is it?" Katara said impatiently.

"We're moving again, tonight under cover of darkness the tribe is migrating inland, where we'll be safe from the Fire Nation"

"What about him!" she said angrily, making her father look at the sickly boy.

"The council has agreed that we can take him with us, as long as he doesn't become a burden."

"He is lying in a coma dad! Of course he's a burden! He probably wouldn't even survive travel!" She was on the verge of tears, but she remained strong "So what happens then?" She asked coldly, she was tired, so tired of her tribe fleeing from their enemy, they had already moved twice since her Father returned from the war, and always they had to remain hidden.

"Then we leave him behind" Hakoda said sadly.

"Then I am staying with him." Her voice was hard and determined.

"Sweetheart, please-"

"No father, you're not changing my mind. I am not leaving him alone to the Fire Nation."

"Katara he could be Fire Nation for all we know!" he argued, throwing a pleading glance to his mother.

"He is Katara's responsibility now" Gran-Gran said "and I am too old to enlessly run and move again. Fate shall be what it shall be, but I agree with Katara. We can't leave, leaving someone behind."

"I won't leave you here to die" Hakoda glared at them both, and stalked out of the hut.

Katara finally let her tears fall, she didn't want to leave her family, but neither could she just leave this helpless boy to the mercy of the Fire Nation. She was torn inside, between her family, and her nature to help others. She continued to sob quietly as her grandmother put a comforting arm around her, and they watched the sun set.

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_Author's Note: So yeah, tell me what you think! I was a little unsure writing this so please review, feedback really helps me better this story!_

~BENIGNviewer~_  
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	5. Book 1: Water: Ch 4 'Escape'

**Peace… (Isn't how I thought it would be)**

_Foreword: So now we're starting the action... Hope you enjoy!  
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_Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but if anyone does, can they please lease it to me for a little bit? =D  
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**4. ****Escape**

Zuko watched as the sun set slowly on the horizon, the days growing shorter and shorter over the South Pole as it drew closer to summer.

"You should be glad we're here now" Iroh said "The Water Tribe would be impossible defeat, no matter how outnumbered in perpetual darkness."

"We destroyed the Northern Water Tribe, and we have crushed the southerners before," Zuko said arrogantly "now all they can do is run to ever fewer hiding places. They are cowards like the avatar. It is fitting that he should have spent his time hiding here with them."

"Do not underestimate the water tribes Zuko. While they aren't steadfast and resolute like the Earth Kingdom, their bonds of family and love can never be broken, unlike the infamous walls of Ba Sing Se."

"Are you going to lecture me as to how _love_ and _family_ can stand against the might of the Fire Nation?" Zuko yelled, his temper rising. "I thought you were going to sit this out below deck anyway"

"Advice should always be offered when you have it to give. It is for the student to decide how he receives it." Iroh chuckled at his own wisdom "And the greatest advice I can give is my recipe for jing sang tea." He said, raising his cup to take a drink. "Aah" the satisfied sound left him as he smacked his lips together in appreciation. "It's getting dark; it's time this old man got some rest."

Zuko just smirked as his uncle wandered back below deck, singing the praises of his tea and the ships cook. "The sun is set" he said to himself, as last rays of light settled below the horizon and twilight set in. Taking off after Iroh, he climbed up where his uncle had descended, heading for the ship's helm, and his destiny.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Katara had never known her father to give up before, and the parting glare he'd left her and her grandmother with gave her the chills. He loved her, of that she had no doubt, she just had no idea how far he would go to ensure her safety. And there was something in his look which had promised her that he wasn't going to leave without her… but she knew he was still set on leaving. That's what worried her. The customs of the water tribes were binding, and she knew that she was technically bound to her father's rule, until she was married, although he had never forced anything on her yet. Her father was a good man, and she had never had to stand on tradition before, in her eyes it was an antiquated and chauvinist means of controlling women, born out of _men's_ desire to protect their families ever since the outbreak of this war.

"Katara…" She didn't need to turn to face him, she knew it was Sokka.

"Did _Dad_ put you up to this?"

"Please Katara, Dad loves you, he only wants what's best for you and the tribe."

"Perhaps what's best is to stand up to the fire nation!" she said angrily.

"Katara, there is no way we can win this fight, do you think we like running, always moving home!" He snapped back at her. _Why did she have to be so stubborn? "Why can't she see that we have no choice!"_

"Because we do have a choice" she said coldly, and Sokka realised that he had spoken his last line of thought aloud. "We have the choice to stand up for other's, to protect them! By running away, and abandoning him here to die, we are abandoning everything which made us different from them!"

"How can you say that Katara! You know what those monsters have done to us, to our family!"

"And what about their families, Sokka? Those soldiers have families too, we're all human, and someone is hurt when their son or father doesn't come home, no matter what nation they're from! What makes us the right side, if we don't try to help others, if we don't fight for more than just ourselves?" She stared him down, fury lining her stance and shining in her eyes.

Sokka glared right back, trying to hold his ground although he knew she was right. He'd always known his little sister was stubborn, but he had never seen her so forward, so defensive of someone else before. Did she know something about that kid? "Why are you making this so hard Katara! We! Have! No! CHOICE!"

"We ALWAYS have a CHOICE!"

They were suddenly interrupted as Hakoda appeared with Gran-Gran. Gran-Gran looked sad, while Hakoda just looked determined. "We have to go now" he said, his tone brooking no argument.

"But what about-"

"We're not leaving him behind, and we will look after him. I prepared a sled for him and the elderly so that we can get out of here quickly; your grandmother and I have already put him on it."

A loud crash ruptured the silence hanging in the thick twilight air, as a Fire Nation ship suddenly ploughed into the village out of the darkness, gliding in with the ocean current in silence, its engines off. A sudden flare of fire lit up the sky signalling the arrival of the Fire Nation, and more flashes followed as the Fire Nation soldiers disembarked. Over on the far edge of the village Katara looked between her family and her home, and then to the boy on the sled. In a heartbeat she knew that if they had a chance to get everyone out of here without a fight then it was the best way. She knew her father would never leave her behind, and she spared a small smile as she realised he would do everything he could to fight for others, and that he would find a way to leave no one behind. She still didn't know why she felt such a connection to the boy, but ever since she'd held him in the water there was something about him which called out to her, it was just a feeling, but it felt like destiny. Giving a single nod of thanks to her father, and a menacing glare to her brother she ran over to the rest of the tribe, already marching out of the village, fleeing into the wilderness.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Zuko swiftly led his troops into the pitiful southern water tribe village. He tried to convince himself he felt nothing for these people, that they were just the final barrier between him and what was rightfully his. His honour hinged on their defeat, and with that thought in mind he mustered all of his pain and rage and channelled it into a massive fire blast which he sent soaring into the sky.

"I am Prince Zuko, of the Fire Nation!" he yelled, come out, or we will burn your houses down with you in them.

No one answered him. Smiling grimly to himself, he prepared another attack. "So be it, cowards!" and with a surprisingly graceful spinning kick he launched a spiral of flame into the nearest hut.

Quickly and efficiently his troops fanned out in a wide pincer formation, burning the village from the outside in, intending to drive it's inhadbitants into the middle, where they would be trapped. It was a flawless strategy, one Zuko had carefully designed for this mission, and it was all to easy. Within minutes the town was ablaze with a wall of fire surrounding it, and no one had run past his perimeter. "All too easy" his lieutenant smirked.

"It was too easy." Zuko observed, but his voice was fraught with worry, rather than the confidence of his officer. "My uncle said the water tribes have very strong bonds, and that they would protect each other to the last."

"Fire burns all bonds, my lord" the officer replied.

His eyes narrowing, Zuko marched into the village, parting the flames around him as passage through the burning barrier. In the middle of the village where he had expected to find a crowd of people, frightened and huddled together, there was no one. "Check the houses!" he yelled frantically, but it was in vain.

As his fire benders tore through all the houses, all they found was empty shells burning, confirming his worst fears. The whole tribe, along with the Avatar, had escaped. He sank to his knees, heedless of the flames licking around him, and tried to smother a choked sob.

"Sir!" one of his men came running in from the perimeter. "We've found a faint mass of tracks leading away from the Village to the south. In this kind of weather the tracks would be quickly covered, so we can't be more than a couple of hours behind them."

Straightening, Zuko regained his composure, his trademark lines of determination setting in. "Ready the rhinos, we're going after them. They're on the run now, and there is only so far that they can go."

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_Author's Note: I rather liked this chapter, and I am very much looking forward to the next, but I would like to get say, 20 reviews to convince me to write it faster ;) Don't worry to all the kurkers out there, I'll post it anyway, but if you sign up and review then I can promise to be more enthusiastic and pour them out faster! XD  
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~BENIGNviewer~_  
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	6. Book 1: Water: Ch 5 'On the Run'

**Peace… (Isn't how I thought it would be)**

_Foreword: Sorry this upate took longer than anticipated, but I hope it was more than worth the wait! Happy reading! Also, thanks for all the kind and supportive comments I've been recieving, you guys are great!  
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_Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Avatar: The Last Airbender, la de da, you know the drill. Can't think of a joke right now, I'll come up with something later... XD  
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**5. ****On the Run**

Katara clung desperately to the sled to which the boy was restrained. Gran-Gran too was resting on the sled, and another similar one was carry the other three elders of the tribe. She had to admit her dad's idea was pretty ingenious. He had rounded up a pack of polarhounds and had them harnessed to the sled's to pull them. The sleds also carried a lot of their supplies, making it easier to move on the tribe, but most of all she was just glad he had found a way to get everybody out. Despite her defiant stand against her Father and Brother before, she was terrified about facing the Fire Nation; she had first had experience with how ruthless they could be.

They continued to trudge through the harsh tundra, before Hakoda called them to a halt. "Let's rest now for a couple of hours, and everyone try to get some sleep. We want to be moving again before the sun rises."

With that everyone stopped, and set up a temporary camp. Food was handed out, and people checked on the elderly. The small kids were largely capable of carrying themselves, although they really needed the break. With the hours of darkness growing longer than those of light in the day, falling asleep was easy, but there was no escaping the dreams that came with it.

_Katara saw the flames behind her, glowing red and orange in the darkness. It was a sinister sight, the black smoke blanked out the stars and she could feel it around her, clogging her sense, thick and pungent. It clouded and filled the sky depriving her of air… panting she finally managed to take a choked breath, all around her the heat was overwhelming. All the moisture seemed to dry up and the aridness was almost as debilitating as the heat and the smoke itself._

_The smoke grew ever thicker, and soon even the glowing flames were covered by the congealing mass of the smoke. It seemed to swirl around her and cleared a little. There was the village again, similar but different, the location was different but the scorching flames were the same. From her position in her nightmare she could see the people milling around in panic, and the hated red of the fire nation soldiers marching among them. With seemingly no control over herself she was drawn in closer, and was confronted with a memory. She could see herself as a young girl, running into a tent to find her mother kneeling and one of the men in red hovering over her._

_"Just let her go…"_

_"You heard your mother- Get out of here!"_

_"Mom, I'm scared" she whimpered, and the part of her that was being forced to watch this again was crying, screaming for her mother, for herself, for the dear little girl she had been…_

_"…I'll handle this" her mother's voice tried to calm her, but the older her watching on could take no comfort _mom no! Run! _But she couldn't hear the dream Katara. _

_The little girl turned and ran…_

_And the smoke gathered around her again. When it cleared she was in centre of the settlement again, that she'd just fled from. It was nothing like it was before; glowing embers and leaping flames illuminated all that was left of the small proud houses in a hellish light. A prone figure was lying burnt and broken on the ground, another standing beside her. Moving closer she came face to face with her mother and it was the man in red cruelly laughing over her. _

_Suddenly another appeared out of the fire, one she hadn't seen before with a large red scar around his left eye. He stepped toward her, reaching out. She struggled and struggled but couldn't move. He kept coming, and then he moved past her, reaching for something she couldn't see. The flames leapt higher and in the light they cast she could just make out another figure on the ground. It was the boy she'd rescued, lying in his yellow robes._

_The young man with the scar was standing over him, just as the other had to her mother, and he reached out his hand… her vision flashed between the young man and the boy, and the other man and her mother, the two visions were overlapping. She felt like she was choking on the smoke filled air, or was it the fear? Another flare of fire, and all she could see was a hand, fire streaming from it, the flames filled her vision now, then as suddenly as they'd erupted they disappeared._

_A strong hand clasped her shoulder, yet it wasn't rough like her father or Sokka, but soft and soothing. Finally finding the ability to move she turned to see the face of the boy. He was in the water tribe garments she'd clothed him in, and she was surprised to see him both here like this, and prone in his yellow robes in the distance. As the soothing feeling spread from her shoulder, the nightmarish vision faded further and further into the distance, the flames receding from her mind. All she could see now were a pair of bright smiling grey eyes, and a bright blue tattoo disappearing beneath a crown of short dark hair. The tattoos seemed to be glowing slightly._

_It was the same boy she had rescued, and yet he was different, the tattoos she had never seen before, his skin was pale, no longer blue from cold, and his smile was brilliant. She finally began to relax and even the boy's image began to fade from view, but she wasn't afraid this time. The nightmare receded and she fell into a deep dreamless sleep._

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Sokka walked softly over to his sister. She was lying on the sled beside the boy, who was as still and seemingly lifeless as ever. He carefully looked at his sister as she seemed in the grips of some kind of nightmare, her breath coming in short gasps, but after another minute it seemed to dissipate, and she began to breathe deeply again. He even saw a small smile grace her features as she relaxed into what he hoped was a pleasant dream.

"Sweet dreams, sis" he whispered, smiling slightly himself.

If he'd been looking he would have noticed a similar smile gracing the previously blank features of the boy beside her, and maybe even that his hand was now laced with Katara's. But of course being Sokka, he didn't, as he went to find himself something to eat.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Katara woke up slowly, as she felt someone shaking her gently. She reluctantly opened her eyes to see her father, grandmother and brother all looking at her. She looked up at the lightening sky and realised it was getting close to dawn, which surprised her. She almost never slept in this late. In fact she couldn't remember having ever slept this well in years. Shaking of her slumber she finally realized that she had nodded off on the sled next the boy, and she realised that her hand was in his. It was strange she thought, she didn't remember holding him when she fell asleep.

Finally meeting the inquisitive gazes of her family she glared back. "What?" she asked, irritated by the looks they were giving her.

"You never sleep this late" Sokka said.

"Well seeing as you're up early for once-"

"Katara!" her dad cut her off before she could finish her comeback.

"Sorry" she mumbled sheepishly, Sokka following suit as her dad glared at him too.

"There's a storm coming" Their grandmother said as a way of changing the subject.

Hakoda nodded in agreement. "We need to get moving again now, not only is there the storm to worry about, but the Fire Nation wasn't far behind us when we left last night, and it's possible they are following us. We need to put as much distance as we can between us and them."

Nodding their acceptance Katara and Sokka both quickly packed up. Katara noticed her grandmother was still looking at her with a knowing smirk, and Katara hid her growing blush as she unwittingly flashed back to the better part of her dream last night. She attempted to hide it behind her irritancy. "Come one Gran-Gran, you yourself siad there is going to be a storm, we need to go!"

If anything her grandmother's smirk grew wider, but she quickly hopped onto the sled as her father got the polarhounds moving again. She cast what she hoped was a furtive glance at the boy again, unable to resist checking up on him. Unlike her brother last night she did notice the smile that adorned his features, but there was something else as well. Where previously his skin had been motley and blue it had regained the pale colour it had been in her dream. But most striking of all was the bright blue tattoo.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Admiral Zhao strode the deck of his flagship alone. No one dared stand near him. Fury was radiating off him in waves that could be felt, the around him was practically steaming, and the deck was scorched. His forces had landed less than an hour ago and had quickly swarmed to the village, to find that it was all but destroyed. It had been completely burnt to the ground and Zhao had a sneaking suspicion he knew who was responsible.

"So the banished Prince thinks he can find some glory here to redeem in his father's eyes?" Zhao muttered. "He is a fool. When I find him, I will give him a scar to match and personally deliver him to the Fire Lord"

"Uh, sir?" A messenger arrived from his scouts.

"What is it?" He snarled.

"Well uh, one of the scout teams found some tracks about ten miles south of the village…"

"And?" He demanded.

"Well the report says they were from a group of komodorhinos, which seem to be following another set of tracks, sir"

"Well well, I wonder what the little prince Zuko is following? Send the men after them, tell them to kill or capture anyone they come across, I personally don't care which."

"Um also…" the messenger stuttered nervously

"What? Spit it out!" Zhao roared

"One of the patrol boats has spotted a small battleship a little way off the coast."

"That'll be Zuko alright, and the ship that belongs to the _great_ general Iroh. Let's send them a visiting party, shall we?" Zhao grinned, a manic light glowing in his eyes "Set us a course for that ship."

"Of course sir!" the messenger bowed, and as hurriedly as politeness dictated he rushed off to fill out the admiral's orders. Zhao however was no longer paying attention. He resumed his pacing, although this time the heat that radiated off him was from an entirely different emotion. However, the only sign of any change as he completed another pass around the deck was the slight tugging on the corners of his mouth, which for him passed as a smile.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Zuko determinedly followed the faint trail in the snow. It wasn't growing any fainter yet, but despite his best efforts he and his men weren't gaining much on the water tribe refugees. It seemed like every time they drew close he had to stop for something, be it rest or to eat and drink. Now even his determination was being tested, as he felt a change in the weather. The clouds were tightening above them as they marched across the frozen tundra and the wind was picking up. If he didn't catch up to the water tribe soon he would lose them. He was as much on the run as they were now.

"Prince Zuko, sir?" his lieutenant inquired

"What is it?" he yelled, his frustration and anger seething to the surface looking for anything to take it out on.

"Well sir, I think we should set up camp, there's a storm building and the safety of the-"

"The safety of the crew doesn't matter!"

"But what about the lives of your men?" he asked, shocked and angry at the stubborn Prince's blatant disregard for his loyal followers.

"Finding the avatar is more important than any individual's safety." He growled.

"This is starting to sound less like a mission, and more like your own personal vendetta!" The other man shot back.

"Learn some respect lieutenant, or I shall teach it to you" Zuko said, his voice low and menacing, and the other man subsided. "We will keep moving, we have to catch the water tribe before this storm closes in, or we'll lose them for sure."

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_Author's Note: I am very pleased with this chapter, I hope I captured Katara's Nightmare well... oh yes, and enter Zhao! (Such a badass charcter, despite being evil o.O) Also in case you didn't notice this chapter (and the next) is influenced heavily by the episode 'The Storm' - as well as the first two episodes as the last few chapters have been. Also quotes in Kataras dream come directly from her flashbacks in the episode 'The Southern Raiders'. Now if you are enjoying this, be sure to show your appreciation and click that review button below! It's quick and painless, and brings me a whole lotta joy! XD lol.  
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~BENIGNviewer~_  
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	7. Book 1: Water: Ch 6 'Introductions'

**Peace… (Isn't how I thought it would be)**

_Foreword: Sorry once again that I have been so lax in updating; but I got sidetracked by the new story I'm putting together. If you''ve got time, I would ask you to all please check it out, it's called _  
'A V A T A R: The Lost Arts: Part 1 _- _'Blue Planet'_'_ _and __it's a modern AU fic which follows the basic plotline of A:TLA. Would love some reviews for it, and I hope you enjoy reading the other major use of my time, apart from Exams (which are finally going to be over next week!). So anyways, here is the latest chapter of _'Peace... Isn't what I thought it would be'_, and finally I'm getting into my intended storyline.  
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_Disclaimer: Yeah, If I did own Avatar: The Last Airbender, there'd have been a Book 4: Air released by now (and probably written by someone other than me) XD  
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**6. ****Introductions**

The wind had really picked up and thick storm clouds were closing in over the ocean. Zhao stood on the deck of his massive flagship as it approached the small one which belonged to Zuko. Quickly and expertly his crew slid a boarding ramp across to the other ship's deck as the two pulled along side.

"Admiral Zhao? To what do I owe this pleasure?" the deep raspy voice of Iroh greeted him.

"General Iroh, it's good to see you so well." Despite his words, Zhao's voice was anything but welcoming.

"Shall we go inside? This storm is getting worse, and I'll have some tea made ready."

"Of course, your taste for fine tea is as legendary as your conquests" Zhao smirked.

In front of him Iroh stiffened, but still maintained his outward show of courtesy. "I suppose they are. Although I don't mean to boast, but I do have a pretty extensive record with fine tea." He chuckled with forced humour.

"I suppose as the fabled Dragon of the west you have had the opportunity to try a lot of things" Zhao didn't even try to conceal his sneer this time.

"We learn from our mistakes, Zhao, and only experience grants wisdom. Although tea helps." He chuckled again, and Zhao looked at his back in disgust. This old man had once been so great, a hero of the fire nation - and this is what he'd come to? Pathetic.

"I'm sure." Zhao gritted out. "Speaking of your recent experiences, General Iroh, tell me where is that famous nephew of yours?" Although Iroh couldn't see him, he could hear the wolfish smile forming around the words. "I am simply dying to hear where his hunt for the elusive Avatar has led him this time."

-A-V-A-T-A-R-

"You'd think with all this storm blowing around it'd take my mind off my stomach…" Sokka whined, in the close confines of the shelter.

"If you complain once more about being hungry or cold or your feet I will rip your head off!" Katara yelled, finally reaching her wits end.

"Jeez, no need to get so worked up about it…" Sokka continued to grumble.

"Urgh!" she groaned. Despite her grouchiness, the journey had been going on like this for hours now. Soon after their father had woken them up that morning they had set off. About an hour after that the storm had set in.

At first it had just been a light flurry of snow with a moderate wind, the snow dampening all sound around them as they trudged across the tundra. It was almost surreal, and despite growing up in these conditions Katara was still amazed and fascinated by the snow. That soft snowfall hadn't lasted though; it quickly doubled, and then doubled again in intensity, the wind picking up with it. The storm rapidly degenerated into a blizzard and as the hours passed by it was on the verge of a full blown white out.

Finally with no other choice Hakoda called a halt to their march. 'We can't go any further in this weather' He yelled, but the words were lost in the howling wind. His meaning was clear, and soon everybody had set up a makeshift camp. And it was like this that they settled in and prepared to wait the storm out.

A largish shelter had been erected over the two sleds, in which everyone was gathered. It was low and cramped, but that prevented it from being battered by the wind too much. Even so they were quickly snowed in.

And it was like this that they sat in silence, the storm raging outside. The quiet amongst them was more of a product of the noise outside not for the want of talking. Finally it was Sokka with his loud mouth that managed to get through to everyone, complaining of course.

"You know I wish we could just fetch some seal jerky…"

"SHUT UP!" Everyone in the tribe turned to stare at them, and Katara lowered her voice, somewhat embarrassed, despite knowing all of them. Quite a few members of the tribe were looking at her knowingly; they all knew how Sokka was.

"What are you all looking at?" Sokka asked, not bothered in the least by the looks.

"Stop being such an idiot Sokka" Katara hissed.

"I'm not stupid" he said imperiously

"Of course not" she sneered that's why your taking 'Mr. Hand' for a walk"

Sokka looked down following Katara's smirking gaze and realized he had subconsciously been walking his hand around like it was a person. "What? I was bored. 'Mr Hand' was just looking to find us some food."

She didn't say anything this time, just rolled her eyes. She noticed her dad grinning stupidly as well and sighed. Sometimes she wished she had a sister, or that her mother… She stopped herself. Dwelling on those thoughts was too painful. Unbidden images from her dream came back to her, not the nightmare, but thoughts of Aang… Wait. Where did that name come from?

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Zuko continued to push through the storm as it swirled ever closer around them. It felt like a living presence, something that fed off the lives it was consuming. The tempest grew and grew, the roiling clouds now completely obscured by the blizzard of snow. Even in his conquests at the North Pole Zuko had never encountered a storm so furious. It was like the entire South Pole was up in arms against his presence. As soon as he had that thought, he tried to push it out of his find, This is just a storm he told himself It's nothing more than bad weather…

The storm however seemed determined to disagree with him; it was at that moment that the first man went missing.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Iroh sat facing Zhao in the large command room at the top of his ship's bridge. Although it was technically Zuko's ship, as it was the transport he was banished on, Iroh was the ranking officer, as a General.

"Seeing as this is ship, where is the errant young Zuko?"

"Oh he's off seeing the world I imagine" Iroh said evasively

"Seeing the world?" Zhao asked disbelievingly.

"Well seeing the world definitely increases your chances of finding something in it" Iroh replied.

"So he's still bent on finding the Avatar?"

"My Nephew will never give up." Iroh said standing,

"You say that like you believe he has a chance" Zhao had stood up as well and he and Iroh were staring off intensely. "The Avatar is long gone from this world; the fire nation broke the cycle a hundred years ago."

"The Avatar was never found. Fire Lord Ozai believes, as does my Nephew, that the Avatar still exists and is a threat."

Zhao snorted derisively. "Fire Lord Ozai just wants his embarrassment of a son to never return, chasing after something that doesn't exist."

"Shades of this world appear only in the presence of light, but that makes them no less real without it."

"Save your proverbs, Iroh. Where is Zuko!" Zhao finally lost what little patience he had. In fact, Iroh was impressed he'd held his temper this long, knowing the man's reputation.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because he is a traitor, and interfered with my conquest of the southern water tribe, and because of him they escaped again."

"I do not know where Zuko is right now" Iroh said, choosing his words carefully. "I have not seen him for some time."

"Be warned Iroh, even your reputation and connections can't protect you from me if I find that you're involved." And with that last parting threat Zhao strode out of the room. A few minutes later and he had walked back onto his ship seemingly unfazed by the storm.

Iroh watched as the massive flagship moved quickly away towards the frozen shore, yet as he saw the war machines of the fire nation unload into the tundra, he felt that Zhao was the one outmatched. He refused to believe in the greater mysteries, and he believed that it would one day be the death of him.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

"Okay that's weird" Sokka said.

"What?" Katara asked, exasperated. "And if you open your mouth one more time about blubbered seal jerky so help me I will un-wash all of your clothes."

"But Katara, that isn't even possib- Oh. Right, sorry." He backed down as he saw her glare. "Though you seriously gotta work on your-"

"Sokka!"

"Alright, alright!" he held his hands up defensively. "Anyways I just thought it was weird that coma-boy there suddenly has blue tattoos"

"His name is not coma boy it's Aa-" she stopped herself, as she saw Sokka raise a curious eyebrow, and she carried on to cover her slip. She didn't want Sokka knowing about her dreams "-And he's had those tattoos all along, they were just hard to see when he was blue from cold."

"I'm sure I would have noticed great big blue tattoos before, even if he was cold" Sokka protested. "And what were you saying about his name? He hasn't woken up yet, has he?"

She tried one last time to change the subject away from how she knew Aang's name. "Did you even rescue him? Did you pay any attention to him when we carried him back to camp?" she asked rhetorically. She had only meant to distract Sokka, but she felt herself getting angry all over again as she remembered how stubborn he'd been when she was trying to help Aang. You don't know that's his name! She scolded herself; it was just a stupid dream! "No! Of course you didn't notice Sokka, you were to busy accusing him of being Fire Nation to notice anything about him!"

"Okay, I was a bit of an idiot" he admitted ruefully. Katara just stared at him in shock, was he actually apologizing? "I kinda guess I might have, possibly, been a little… mistaken." He rambled.

Katara's glare came right back. "That's a pretty poor apology, Sokka."

"Fine, I'm sorry" he said albeit reluctantly. "So what were you saying about the kid's name?"

"Sokka he's not a kid, he has to my age at least!"

"Yeah, he's a kid, and so are you-"

"-coming from you almighty warrior-" she cut in sarcastically.

"Stop changing the subject! What did you say his name was?"

"Aang." A totally different voice answered taking the words right out of Katara's mouth. Both her and Sokka turned in amazement and were confronted with a weak, but very much alive, Aang.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Zuko was staring out into the distance as he continued to lead his soldiers forward. He no longer had any idea where the Water Tribes trail was, but his stubborn pride wouldn't let him admit it. So he just continued to march resolutely south. He had lost three of his men already, all of them non fire-benders. When the first man and his rhino had just disappeared into the snow, he had organized everyone into one large bunch, forgoing any sort of formation.

After the second man disappeared he had had all the Rhino's tied together, his leading the others like an ostrich horse on a halter rope. Now a third man had just vanished, falling off his rhino and instantly disappearing. As much as he had wanted to stop and search for him, he had fought his better nature. They had to go on, or they were finished. Turning back was not an option, Zuko would never surrender.

-A-V-A-T-A-R-

Aang quietly stood up looking around him in fascinated curiosity. He felt like he'd just woken up after a long sleep in. As his eyes came into focus he found himself in a large tent that sheltered a group of people, probably the population of a small village. The next thing that he noticed was the cold, and that made him realize what he was wearing. He looked at the obliviously water tribe clothing he was wearing, puzzled. How did I get in this… How did I even get here?... Where is here exactly? All of these questions only left him more and more puzzled. He was at one of the water tribes. Okay. So north or south? South was the most likely, since he had left from the southern air temple… He winced slightly, trying to block the memory from surfacing.

That was when he noticed the heated argument going on beside him. A boy and a girl, teenagers really were getting stuck into each other over something he couldn't quite catch They looked very similar, he figured they were probably siblings, the boy being the older one. The girl looked oddly familiar, and a name echoed in his mind Katara…

"Fine, I'm sorry" The elder boy said, trying to be placating. "So what were you saying about the kid's name?" The kid? Do they mean me? He thought, confused. Urgh, how long was I out?

"Sokka he's not a kid, he has to my age at least!" The one he knew as Katara said. Yep they are talking about me. He thought, casting a look round the tent and seeing no one else close to their age.

"Yeah, he's a kid, and so are you-" Aang shrugged, grinning to himself, the older boy had a point.

"-coming from you almighty warrior-" Katara sneered, and he almost cheered as he saw her land a hit. This is really entertaining.

"Stop changing the subject! What did you say his name was?"

He figured he should intercede about now, before things got violent. "Aang" he said by way of introduction.

The two of them whirled to face him, looking at him shocked, and he was surprised to see hint of recognition in Katara's eyes mirroring his own. The other boy was staring at him just as gobsmacked, but was the first to recover.

"The universe just loves proving me wrong." He whined to no one in particular "I thought you were never going to wake up."

"Uh… right." Aang said having no idea how to react. "Katara I think I-"

"WAIT!" the older boy yelled. "How the hell do you know my sister?"

"Um… I'm not sure." He blushed, and rubbed the back of his neck, not wanting to talk about the weird dream he'd been having. Sokka "Where exactly am I, I mean I think I'm in the South Pole, but I suppose I could be in the North, depending on the ocean currents-"

"You're in the south pole alright." Katara interrupted his rambling, speaking to him for the first time. Her voice was deep for a girl and soft and flowing, like running water, just as he'd imagined it. But was I imagining it? He said, thinking about his dreams again. "But where exactly in the South pole we're not sure." She continued.

"You're lost in your own tribe?" he was even more confused now.

"Well we're kind of on the run-" Katara began, but was interrupted by the older boy.

"Katara! Don't give him any information, he's obviously a spy!"

"A spy who doesn't know what pole he's in?"

"It's just a cover, to make him seem like a lost traveller!"

"Well I kind of am…" Aang tried to interrupt, but the arguing siblings didn't pay any attention.

"Don't be so stupid! If he was a spy, then he would know about the Fire Nation attack!"

"Um… what about the Fire Nation?" Aang was even more confused now, and he didn't even know where he was or who anyone was.

"See!" Katara shot back at Sokka, then to Aang "The Fire Nation attacked and drove us out of our settlement."

"Why would they do that?" Aang asked.

"I don't know, maybe because of the war?" the older boy said sarcastically.

"Um ok…" Aang said uncertainly. What is going on here? Am I still dreaming?

Katara seemed to see him in a daze and immediately took pity on him, her concern overriding her irritation with her brother. "Aang are you alright?"

"This kinda all feels like a dream, I still have no idea who anybody is, or anything."

"Oh." Katara said as she realized for the first time that Aang didn't know anybody apart from the weird feeling of familiarity he had with her. "Well I guess introductions are in order then. First of all the, the paranoid idiot over there is my older brother Sokka" she said scornfully. "And this is the rest of the tribe. Rest of the tribe this is Aang" she called loudly.

All eyes turned to him and he waved nervously. "Hi…"

"So you're the strapping young man my little Katara rescued." An elderly woman approached him and looked him over. Aang found himself blushing under her scrutiny. "Hmm… not bad" she muttered, pinching his arm and prodding his gut "not bad at all."

"Um… exactly how was I rescued?" Aang asked to change the subject, but he had a feeling he already knew.

"Well I saw you floating in the water near our settlement, and I kinda swam out to you and brought you in"

"Not withstanding the freaky water bending or anything" Sokka grunted, remembering being swamped by Katara's wave bitterly.

"You're a water bender?" Aang asked, surprised. "Wow that's so cool!"

"I've never really learned…" Katara said, shuffling her feet.

"What? Isn't there someone in your tribe who can teach you?"

"No… I am the last water bender left in the whole South Pole."

"That is so messed up." Aang said frowning. Katara looked at him questioningly, but didn't have the chance to ask what he meant.

"So the mysterious boy is awake" A tall man said, striding over. "Who are you boy?" he said roughly, but not unkindly.

"Dad, this is Aang. Aang, this is my father, Hakoda" Katara interceded, placing herself protectively between them. Aang puzzled by her action, but dismissed it, stepping around her and offering his hand to Hakoda.

"Pleased to meet you" he said politely. Hakoda looked at him appraisingly, but didn't take the proffered hand, caution and suspicion shining in his eyes.

"Dad is the chief of our tribe" Sokka said, trying to sound important as he moved to stand beside his father.

"What interests me," Hakoda said "is who you are."

"Dad…" Katara began, but he shot her a hard stare and she quietened.

"I'm Aang" Aang said, holding his hand out again.

"Perhaps I wasn't clear, the fire nation is on our doorstep and you turn up in the ocean, what are you doing here?" Hakoda asked, suddenly he seemed very intimidating to Aang.

"Well I don't really…" he began, before changing tack. "I was kinda in a storm with my bison… and I don't really remember much after that… I think I got stuck in some ice or something… then waking up here to Katara and um, him arguing" he pointed to Sokka, momentarily forgetting his name and shrugged his shoulders.

"A likely story" Sokka sneered.

"No really! That's all I remember!" he cast a frantic look around "Has anyone seen Appa anywhere?"

"Appa? Who's Appa? Another spy?"

"No… Appa's my flying bison."

"You know what, I take it all back, he's not a fire nation spy, he's insane!" Sokka said making a loopy gesture then pointing at Aang in a very obvious manner.

"He's been unconscious and feverish Sokka!" Katara defended him.

"No seriously, has anyone seen my flying bison?" he asked, and even Katara looked at him weirdly.

Hakoda watched the whole scene play out in a kind of bemused puzzlement, and he shot a questioning glance to his mother-in-law who shrugged back. He didn't have any more time to think about it however as a fireball exploded through their shelter.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Zuko drove his men as hard as he dared across the frozen wastes, and was surprised that the storm relented somewhat. The wind seemed to die back a fraction, and while it wasn't a huge difference, it didn't affect at all the amount of snow falling; it made the cold that little bit less biting.

Smirking bitterly to himself Zuko led his tired rhino on foot, when suddenly he walked into a large mound of snow. He had barely been able to see it amongst the heavy snow falling and for a moment he was puzzled as to how something like this could have formed. Surely the snow was falling uniformly? His question was answered when he thrust his arm into the side of the mound and came into contact with a rough taut surface. It was a tent! Finally luck goes my way.

"I have you now, Avatar" he grinned "after all these years." He then turned to his men spread out behind him "Over here! It's them!" and with that he launched a powerful fire blast into the side of the mound.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

The instant the blast burst through the tent all was chaos. Everyone was scattered against the walls, and a huge flurry of snow, fire, and the harsh wind swept in. The small group of fire benders and soldiers marched into the tent, as much seeking the cover it provided as their prey huddling inside.

As soon as the Fire Nation soldiers entered, the water tribe warriors leapt into action. The conversation he'd just been having completely left Hakoda's mind as he drew his ever present sword and entered the fray.

"How on earth did they find us!" someone yelled as the violence heightened both inside and out.

The Water Tribe and Fire Nation warriors fought back and forth, fireballs ripped through the sturdy fabric of the tent, and the raging elements of the storm tore at everyone. Aang was knocked to the ground right at the outbreak, as a body fell on him and a fire blast whizzed overhead.

"Aang, keep down!" Katara's voice came from on top of him, and if he hadn't been so confused by everything else he would have blushed.

"Let's kick some Fire Nation butt!" Sokka said enthusiastically.

"Sokka- wait!" but Katara's plea was in vain.

"What on earth is going on in here?" Aang asked of no one. "Are these guys like some desperate fire bending thieves or something?"

"It's the Fire Nation" Katara said as if that was all the explanation in the world.

"Right, but I thought we were in the South Pole?" He noticed Katara looking at him strangely, but couldn't dwell on it as a sudden wall of fire reared up, separating the combatants and tearing down the last vestiges of the tent.

A tall teenager strode out from the midst of the fire benders, an angry red scar twisting across the left half of his face matching his sour disposition. "Where is the Avatar!" he yelled

"The Avatar?" Hakoda asked surprised "Surely he's dead by now?"

"I have scoured the world, my people's world, and I know he's here." In a rage the adolescent strode through his walls of flame and grabbed Gran-Gran. The Water Tribe warriors stiffened in response, but didn't attack as he held a flame close to her face. "He'd be about this old? Master of all elements? Last air bender?" he continued as if nothing had interrupted him. "Where are you hiding him?"

"We don't know of any Avatar!" Hakoda insisted, and Aang unnoticed by everyone else squirmed.

"Don't give me that nonsense! I know he's here!"

"And who are you to know such things?" Hakoda asked, a hint of defiance in his voice, although concern for his mother in law kept him in check.

"I am prince Zuko of the Fire Nation" he said proudly, yet grimacing. "Now give me the Avatar or else…" the flame in his hand grew larger and began to singe the side of Kana's face.

She winced at the pain, but did not cry out. Aang watched as silent tears rolled down Katara's face beside him, worry eating at her. He couldn't sit by and see these innocent people suffering on his behalf, it was against everything he believed in. "I'm the Avatar." he said, putting Katara's startled gasp out of his mind "What do you want with me?"

"Huh! Is this some kind of trick? Come to sacrifice yourself for your grandma boy? The Avatar is over a century old, you are no Avatar!"

"No trick, I swear. Now. Let. Her. Go." Aang didn't know where the strength in his voice came from, or why it suddenly started to resonate more, as if there was another voice behind it, just waiting to burst to the surface.

Everyone in the ruined shelter watched in a sort of stunned fascination as they watched this conflict edge closer and closer to violence. The angry Fire Nation prince was glaring at the young boy who's been rescued with uncontrived hatred, while everyone else just looked at him bewildered. No one knew what to make of the boy who was challenging Zuko, the Water Tribe members only knew of him as the boy Katara rescued, which was little more than what the Fire Nation soldiers thought of him.

Katara for her part didn't doubt Aang for a second. Aang is the Avatar? She honestly didn't know how to feel about it, she had for so long dreamed of finding the Avatar and ending the war, but now that she had, the war was already over and the Fire Nation had won, so what could they do?

"You shouldn't have crossed me, peasant!" Zuko snarled, finally finding a voice for his rage. Roughly throwing Kana to the ground, he paid her no heed as she was quickly picked up by Hakoda. He deftly spun in place, launching a large fireball at Aang from his foot as he completed the motion.

Aang took a light stance and deftly twirled his hands sucking the air from the flames and dissipating the attack before it could reach him. In response he swept his arms forward and twisted redirecting the howling winds from outside to flatten the assembled fire benders.

"You…!" Zuko spluttered "You're the last air bender? You're the Avatar? But- you're just a child!"

"You're just a teenager." Aang replied with devastating logic.

"But how is that possible?" Zuko muttered, and Aang just stared at him growing more and more confused.

"Well now that we've settled that yes, I am in fact the Avatar, can we all stop fighting?" That seemed to snap Zuko out of his daze, and his anger simmered to the forefront again.

"I have to take you to my father, you are going to be the guest of the Fire Nation, Avatar" he snarled, and Aang knew that it wasn't a polite invitation. Zuko launched another fireball at Aang, and this time he dodged, jumping out into the storm. Zuko blindly followed him, flashes of fire lighting up the darkness even through the thick snow.

The remaining fire benders and water tribesmen stared at each other, in some sort of uncertain impasse. "So, uh, jerky anyone?" Sokka asked into the tense silence.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Zhao was sitting in the confines of one of the tanks. His massive force was scouring the winter wasteland for any sign of the elusive water tribe, or the banished prince. Hunting down the Water Tribe was almost unnecessary since the fall of the earth kingdom but Zhao had conquered the north, and it was fitting that he also be the one to bring the south under heel as well. He was Zhao, the scourge of the Water Nation. It was also an added bonus that he would be the one to return the banished prince to his father. Firelord Ozai would be pleased.

"Sir!" a loud tapping interrupted his self indulgence. Opening up the door of the tank, a messenger climbed in.

"You better tell me what I want to hear" Zhao said menacingly.

"Yessir" the soldier mumbled nervously. "One of the scout riders reported seeing fire blasts amongst the snow to the south"

"Aah, so our errant prince Zuko has found the Southern Water Tribe. Still looking for his lost Avatar, the fool. Well it looks like luck has come my way." Zhao mused "Order the men to move out, we're going after him"

"But sir… the storm-"

"What part of what I said made you think this was a debate?" Zhao said coldly. While a large portion of his force were reasonably well insulated inside their tanks, he didn't spare a second thought for them, or the hundreds of foot soldiers who would have to traipse across the frozen tundra in the perilous storm. "Lets introduce ourselves to the last enemies and traitors of the Fire Nation shall we?"

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_Author's Note: Ok, so now everyone is meeting everyone, and all the major players positions are about to be established... It's kinda funny, but for this chapter I was combining elemetns of both the first two and last two episodes of season 1 to create this chapter, as well as some which are uniquely my own. I hope you enjoyed it! As I mentioned above, can you all check out my other/new A:TLA story and please review! I kinda thrive off feedback (which sounds pretty needy, I know =P) but hey, it's waht makes me wanna write and share, and if you want me to write and share as well, then just enter a few words and let me know! Again, sorry for the delay in updating, and I hope you're all still with me!  
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Regards; The  
~BENIGNviewer~


	8. Book 1: Water: Ch 7 'Peace isn't' Pt 1

**Peace… (Isn't how I thought it would be)**

_Foreword: Well You can't complain about a long wait for an update now! Here it is, and I hope you enjoy the tumultuos ride we're on!__  
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_Disclaimer: If I only actually owned Avatar: The Last Airbender... *drools* he he. XD  
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**7. ****Peace... isn't how I thought it would be - [Part 1]  
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"Fight me if you dare, Avatar!"

"Why are you doing this?" Aang cried out as Zuko launched another fire blast at him, which he redirected.

"Because I have to, Avatar!" He yelled back "I don't expect you to understand anything about honour, coward, after running away for a hundred years!"

"A hundred years? That's impossible!"

Zuko didn't reply, he just took advantage of Aang's momentary confusion and thrust a massive wall of flames towards him. Aang was just able to evade, using the gale force winds to his advantage and allowed himself to be swept away with them. Zuko chased him avariciously, hurling insults after Aang as he strove to subdue him, and all the while Aang's thoughts raced, weariness and confusion pervading him as he struggled to make sense of what was going on.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Fires burned brightly around the place, burning brightly in the darkness of the storm clouds, as the blizzard of snow thinned slightly. In the darkness beyond the ruins of the fire-illuminated shelter silhouettes of large shapes could be seen if anyone looked.

However, no one moved in the broken shelter, as Water and Fire nation eyed each other warily, the tension was at breaking point. The Fire Nation soldiers were uncertain as to what they were supposed to do; their leader hadn't said anything about what to do with the Water Tribesmen, if indeed there was anything they could do. Zuko was solely focused on his plans to capture the avatar, and even if they defeated the water tribe warriors, they still had no way of imprisoning them, or moving them. For their part the Water Tribe warriors were equally hesitant to resume fighting, surrounded by their women and young children, they didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt.

The tension snapped when a huge metal object busted its way through the last vestiges of the shelter's wall. It was long and rectangular in shape, with four massive spiked wheels fixed to each of its corners, Sokka recognized it as a Fire Nation tank form his dad's stories of the war. Zuko's troops all nervously saluted as a new Fire Nation man stepped down from the tank, wearing the trimmed uniform of an Admiral. Sokka studied him cautiously; the man had short spiky hair, massive side burns, only outsized by his scowl.

"And I expected Prince Zuko to be here." He said, almost casually, although his voice was icier than the winds whipping around them. "So this is the pitiful Southern Water Tribe. I expected more, even from savages. And no sign of the Avatar either, how disappointing." He said, grinning cruelly. "I am admiral Zhao, the scourge of the Water Tribes and you will all surrender to me, or I will kill you. I'll give you a moment to decide, but bear in mind it doesn't bother me, either way." With that he turned away from the huddle of people back to his tank.

Immediately a swarm of Fire Nation soldiers rushed in and surrounded both Zuko's forces and the Water Tribe Warriors. Zuko's soldiers were quickly led away, but Sokka had little time to ponder this as a furious conversation started between the tribe

"What do we do, chief?" one of the warriors asked Hakoda.

"We surrender Bato. There's nothing else we can do, at least this way we'll all survive."

"Dad!" Sokka cried out, unable to believe that they would just give in like that.

"Shut up!" one of the Fire Nation soldiers barked harshly, shoving him the butt of his spear.

"I'm sorry Sokka, but there's nothing that we can do." His father said quietly "I'm just trying to protect you and your sister…" he trailed off, unable to see Katara anywhere. "Katara!"

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

The moment that Zuko attacked and Aang began to lead him away from the shelter, Katara followed. The wind was chilling even through her thick Parka, although surprisingly the ice didn't seem to bother her. The snow parted before her as she chased after Zuko and Aang, who were fighting viciously, or at least Zuko was. Aang seemed unwilling to even attack, and he moved gracefully through the air, using the harsh gale winds to tire Zuko down.

They couldn't have gone far from the others, but they were already out of sight in the darkness and snow. She thought she could just make out the slightest flicker of fire over her shoulder, and she worried for a moment about the rest of her tribe, until she heard Zuko's voice taunting Aang.

"Fight me if you dare, Avatar!"

"Why are you doing this?" She heard Aang cry out, and she decided that she had to help him. She didn't rescue him from the unforgiving sea, and learn he was the long lost Avatar just to see him be taken by the fire nation.

"Because I have to, Avatar!" came Zuko's reply, but the rest of his words were lost as the images from her nightmare-dream overlayed themselves over reality.  
She now recognized the man with the car who had been standing over Aang's prone form as Zuko. "No." she hissed to herself, "I will not lose anyone else to the Fire Nation"

"Impossible!" She caught the last word Aang spoke and watched the huge wall of flames closing in him as he looked around confused and in turmoil. At the last moment he managed to bend himself out of the, leaping impossibly high into the wind as the partition of fire passed below. Too late she realized the flames were now headed for her, and as they fanned out viciously she could see no way to avoid them. Unable to even scream out of fear, Katara stared at the approaching flames, and could just see Zuko looking at her in unrestrained horror. Her view of Zuko seemed to change as his amber eyes changed to Aang' grey ones from her dream. The grey eyes began to glow in her mind, and a voice that was many thousands rang through her mind, although the words escaped her. Acting upon the instincts the glowing eyes were conveying to her in her mind, she raised a powerful wave from the snow around her. The wave dissipated the flames into a cloud of steam, which was swept away in an instant on the wind.

"Katara!" Aang called from beside her, and she sighed in relief as she saw him. He was holding his head as if in pain, and she had a feeling that the image of his glowing eyes wasn't just in her head as she had thought.

Her relief at seeing him was short lived as she realized where the light she was seeing him by was coming from, the glowing hand of more than three dozen fire benders circling them and Zuko.

* * *

_Author's Note: Another update, don't you love me? This one was shorter, but sweet in my opinion, and I really enjoyed it. Sorry about the cliffie, This is a 2 part, I'll relieve you shortly. Just setting up the moment for what comes next...  
As always please review, even if it's only to tell me three little words ;) lol. Just press the button below... You know I know you know where it is! =P  
Also please read and review my other story A:TLA story, it's a massive undertaking for me, and I would love some more feedback for it!_

Regards; The  
~BENIGNviewer~


	9. Book 1: Water: Ch 8 'How I thought' Pt 2

**Peace… (Isn't how I thought it would be)**

_Foreword: Again, another quick update for me! __Please read and review my other A:TLA stories as well as this one, feedback makes the heart grow fonder ;)  
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_Disclaimer: Well I didn't own Avatar: The Last Airbender a couple of days ago when I last updated... sadly nothing's changed XD  
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**8. ****Peace... isn't how I thought it would be - [Part 2]  
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"So you chose to surrender… very wise" Zhao was pacing in front of the bound and secured water tribe people. "I might even let most of you live, as labour for the new colony here" His pacing stopped, and it manifested in an evil grin spreading across his hard features. "Of course" he added, as if on an after thought, "How many of you survive _that_ is up to you." No one was fooled by his mock concern, if his face even had such an expression.

"Sir, we've found Prince Zuko, and two more of the water tribe scum - a boy and a girl" One of Zhao's Captains rushed in and informed him.

The assembled water tribe exchanged a glance; they knew the 'boy' who was supposedly one of them that had led Zuko away was in fact the Avatar. None of them were in any hurry to enlighten Zhao and his men to that fact, neither were those soldiers who had come with Zuko it seemed. "He seems more interested in that Fire nation Prince than any of us" Bato breathed quietly into Hakoda's ear.

"What are we getting into?" Hakoda quietly shared his fear with his oldest friend.

"Well done Captain, I trust you have them in custody?" Zhao said, coldly assessing the Officer in front of him and finally addressing him.

"We've surrounded them, they aren't going anywhere." The officer assured him.

"They'd better be." The other man trembled under Zhao's hard glare "I suppose I best go pay them a visit then."

"Don't hurt my daughter, please!" Hakoda cried when he heard the cruelty promised in Zhao's voice.

"Oh are you still here?" Zhao smirked "Captain do me a favour and take these barbarians away"

"With pleasure sir!" The captain said, his relief at not being burned alive finding a release in a morbid eagerness.

"Just one moment" Zhao smirked, pulling Hakoda out of the shackled line of the Water Tribe prisoners. "Your daughter isn't here. Is she?" He said slowly, the hard words grating out of his mouth.

"No…" Hakoda whispered, which raised something akin to a smile on Zhao's face.

"So then she didn't surrender."

"No, no please!" Hakoda was pleading now.

"I'm afraid what you know the consequences are" Zhao continued mercilessly. "But since you've been such a cooperative prisoner, I'll grant you your first wish" The sickening twist at the corners of his mouth rose a little higher as he saw the Water Tribe man's hopeful face.  
"I promise you she won't feel any pain." With that he threw the man into the snowy ground, leaving him frozen in shock and horror to the mercy of his soldiers whips. He had an appointment to keep.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Aang watched Katara closely, both afraid and yet selfishly glad she was here with him. Since she's appeared in his dreams she had been the one constant in a world that had rapidly fallen apart around him. If he were to believe what everyone else was saying in this situation then he had to have been missing for a hundred years, which meant everyone he knew was gone. If he believed that then he might as well believe that in that time a war had been started and seemingly won by the fire nation, leaving him with a world colossally out of balance, which was supposedly his duty to fix. This only added to his confusion. Not only was he torn inside and indecisive over being the Avatar, but everyone seemed to already know he was the avatar. And so far he had not been welcomed kindly.  
His one consolation was a pretty girl from his dreams, who he felt like he knew and yet at the same time was a complete stranger to him. He'd heard her voice thousands of times when he was adrift in mind and body, yet had only had one actual conversation, if their fractured introductions could be considered that. His only other friend in the world he had to rely on was his bison Appa, but Appa was nowhere to be seen.  
It was in this state that he failed to register the approach of a new fire nation soldier.

"Well, well, look who we have here." The new man's voice caught Aang's attention, "Two Water Tribe scum who thought they could escape" The man continued "and the Traitorous Prince Zuko"

"Captain Zhao" Zuko said snidely, he seemed reassured that Zhao didn't recognize Aang as the Avatar. Aang couldn't say he was disappointed either, as he still struggled, choking on his nightmares and memories.

"It's admiral Zhao!" Zhao screamed, before reining his temper in behind his cruel mask. "Not that it matters, you'll have plenty of time to learn manners in prison"

"We'll see about that" Zuko sneered

Aang was watching the fight brewing, sharing a quick look with Katara, who was also wisely keeping quiet while they were momentarily forgotten. They moved closer, seeking the solace of each other, and the little extra protection they could afford together.

"Are you challenging me?" Zhao sneered.

"Any time, anywhere" Zuko said boldly "Agni Kai"

Moving faster than a striking snake, Zhao mustered a huge fire blast at Zuko, who barely managed to dodge. "Well why wait then?"

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

They scuffled back and forth, flames jutting out from the fists and feet in a deadly confrontation like two bull-hippos butting heads.

"It's a shame your father isn't here to see me humiliate you" Zhao taunted. "I guess your uncle is close enough that I could still extend an invitation?"

Zuko screamed an inarticulate battle cry and charged Zhao again. Zhao was a little taken aback by his ferocity, but even so, the two were evenly matched. Suddenly it was Zuko who got a lucky break when Zhao slightly stumbled on the frozen ground. Zuko followed up his advantage by kicking jets of flame along the snow covered ice, forcing Zhao off balance.  
When Zuko finally stood over him panting, Zhao just smirked. "Your own father doesn't even want you. Tell me, how does it feel?"

"You're wrong!" Zuko denied vehemently "Once I deliver the Avatar to my father he will welcome me home with honour!"

"Still chasing after fairytales are we Zuko? The fire nation destroyed all the air benders a hundred years ago. Face it Zuko, if he truly loved you, he would have let you come back by now, since the Avatar doesn't exist. Your father thinks you are a disgrace, you have the scar to prove it." Neither of them noticed Aang's face twist in horror and disbelief at the fate of the air benders, although Zuko wouldn't have been surprised. Instead he was consumed by a growing rage as he faced his nation nemesis. "Maybe you'd like a scar to match?" He roared, his fist igniting in flames.

Zhao stared up at him from where he lay, unflinching. "Do it!" he ordered.

Zuko released the flames and intentionally struck the ground beside Zhao. However the flames melted the snow and ice into steam which scolded Zhao's face, yet Zhao didn't cry out. He seemed unfazed by the temporary burns from the steam.  
"Don't have the guts to go all the way?" He sneered, pulling himself to his feet "Your father raised a coward, although at least you're not a total disgrace. However this changes nothing." And just as Zuko had taken his guard down, Zhao blasted him in the face.

Zuko managed to throw an arm up and partially block the flames, but he was still knocked out cold from the force of the blow, and Zhao's follow through fist striking his temple.

"Tie him up; he can have a cell all to himself in my transport." Zhao ordered, and two men broke from the circle and began to secure his unconscious form.

"Now what am I going to do with you two? Hoping I would forget about you?" Zhao turned to face Aang and Katara who had been desperately hoping just that. "My, my, aren't you a pretty thing" he said almost seductively regarding Katara. "However I promised your father that you would not hurt you, and I'm nothing if not a man of honour" He added this last sally, sneering at Zuko's unconscious form. "So I'll do you quickly" he finished, "and then I'll have some fun with you boy."

With that he grabbed Katara by the wrist stepping right in front of her and Aang to do so. It was perhaps this proximity which led him to realize the change in Aang a second later than the rest of his men, a second too late. With his attention focused on Katara, he didn't see the look of pain rage and fear which swept Aang, and so was completely surprised when the moment his hand closed on Katara's wrist, Aang's closed upon his.

"No."

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

His voice was hollow and empty, rough and gravelly. It grated like the inexorable passage of time, and echoed with the cries of many. Aang felt himself consumed by the familiar fear and pain, but also a new sense of rage. His vice like grip upon the fire nation admiral felt so good, assuaging his rampant emotions, feeding his burning anger. When Zhao's eyes met his and widened with fear he saw the glow of his own reflected in their black recesses. His own mind, the part of Aang which was the air bending monk he was raised hesitated at the sight, but didn't stop his hands which seemed to belong to a stranger, moving out of his control. He couldn't pull himself back from the sudden and growing sensation of drowning, the abyss he was falling into as nothing but power replaced everything he was.  
Despite this terrifying transformation, Zhao still had his hands fastened like claws into Katara's skin like, holding her as if she were some prize he was unwilling give up. Perhaps he was frozen in shock at the sight of the Avatar. It didn't matter to Aang in this state, his vice like hand pulling Zhao's off Katara effortlessly. He then swirled his other hand in between them, before releasing Zhao altogether.  
His swirling hand formed a vortex of air which then coalesced into a almost solid disk. The swirling air was pulling snow and ice into it, and the out of control Aang formed it all together, bending both elements wielding them with titanic force in the space of a heartbeat. As suddenly as the vortex had formed it released with devastating results on Zhao and the fire nation troops. The luck ones were hoisted as high as fifty feet in the air and sent flying more than twice that distance. The unlucky ones were struck by the water and ice, tearing skin flesh and bone alike. Whether they would die would depend on how long they were left out in the freezing arctic.  
And still Aang wasn't done; the very storm billowing around them was harnessed to his control, as Katara finally staggered over to him, carried robotically by her feet, the only one left untouched by Aang's power.  
Aang felt like he was taking a breath of water, his lungs were screaming in protest from the nightmare he was reliving. Unconsciously his mind had flashed back to a familiar memory, down to the arc of lightning striking the sea, and the booming clap of thunder shaking him from his perch on Appa. _Appa. Where is he?_ The thought dominated his conscious mind as his senses were suddenly filled with the contact of the cold water, the rough waves all that were keeping the sea from freezing over completely. He felt the storm shaking him, but he was not going to let it best him, he wouldn't go under again…

It was during this recurring nightmare that Katara had first appeared in his mind, and seemingly out of his dreams there she was again.

_-A-V-A-T-A-R-_

Katara was in chaos. The moment Aang's eyes and tattoos began glowing she felt Zhao's hands claw into her. But that wasn't the real torture; the real torture was in her mind. Just as Aang was lost to the power behind his glowing eyes, so Katara was once again consumed by those glowing eyes in her mind. She shut her eyes to try and block out the image, but it only grew stronger, Aang's form was now replaced by that of a water tribe man, tall and wearing ancient furs, with dark hair and skin, and yet the same glowing eyes as Aang.  
She had no idea why she was being affected like this, but she had this feeling that she had to do something. She opened her eyes again, and found that she'd sunk to her knees. Looking at Aang, the image of the water tribe man faded into the back ground, the glowing eyes no longer burning her from the inside, but causing her to squint as she stared into Aang's face. She staggered to her feet and marvelled momentarily at the power with which Aang bent both air and ice, but was brought back to reality as she observed the horrific outcome for the fire nation soldiers.  
A small part of her mind queried as to why she alone was unaffected by his seemingly undirected attack, but she had no time to dwell as Aang began manipulating the very weather itself. As she made her way closer to Aang she noticed Zuko had avoided the most of Aang's attack, but was holding his ands over his eyes and shaking violently as if possessed in his unconscious state. She spared him no further thought as she reached Aang.  
Then impulsively, crazily, stupidly she hugged him tightly, the very storm that had driven her tribe to ground swirling around them at his command. She didn't let him go, in fact she pulled him closer and buried her face in his chest, listening to his heart beat wildly with the fear and rage coursing through him...

It was the first time she'd ever seen anyone hurt like this, to be lost so completely to it, and heedless of the unspeakable power he wielded in that moment she decided she never wanted to see him like this again.

* * *

_Author's Note: Now I know people will be curious after the events of this chapter, but trust me people, everything is happening for a reason, and if you feel like you know what it is, PM me.  
Reviewer Responses:_

- Nerwen Elendil_ I am glad you like glowing Aang, and now in this chapter we get some REAL glowing Aang...__ What can I say, I love him when he glows too =P (It's the eyes!)_

_If anyone else wants a question answered feel free to ask me in a review and I'll answer it as best as I can for everyone (as long as it doesn't give away the plot!)  
As always, love hearing from you people, and if you love reading from me let me know, by clicking the review button below! (Corny I know, but hey, rhymes are awesome... right?)  
_

Regards; The  
~BENIGNviewer~


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